People are already torching things they shouldn't with Elon Musk's flamethrowers

Elon Musk's Boring Company has gotten its $500
flamethrowers into the hands of consumers for the first
time.

One thousand people got hold of the devices at a Boring
Company headquarters pickup party over the weekend, where they
torched marshmallows.

For legal reasons, the machines are named
Not-a-Flamethrower.

Some people have already been torching things at home
and sharing the images on social media.

Elon Musk's Boring Company got its $500 flamethrowers into the
hands of consumers for the first time on Saturday.

The company sold
20,000 of the machines, but the first thousand were
distributed at an event at The Boring Company's headquarters in
Los Angeles. People formed long lines to get hold of their very
own flamethrower.

Musk was happily tweeting away from the so-called pickup party.

The name of the fire-spewing machine is Not-a-Flamethrower, owing
to shipping and customs regulations that restrict the transport
of anything termed a flamethrower.

Musk tweeted what he claimed was the terms and conditions for the
machines, some of which were presented in the style of the US
children's author Dr. Seuss.

The YouTuber Justine Ezarik unboxed the device in a video over
the weekend, in which the tech reviewer Faruk Korkmaz commented:
"Read the terms, they're not joking. Even though it's written in
a joking manner."

At the pickup event, customers tested the flamethrowers
(which are definitely flamethrowers) by torching
marshmallows.

After customers took the flamethrowers home they started
sharing pictures and videos on social media. These guys
flame-roasted steaks.

Musk's terms and conditions recommended using them for
crème brûlée - these people obliged.

Not all of the images depicted safe or controlled use of the
machines, however.

This included Ezarik, a vlogger whose YouTube channel has
over 4 million subscribers. She accidentally burned a section of
her garden's artificial grass when making a cooking
video.

This guy lit something he was smoking with the
device.

While another man sprayed flames dangerously close to his
feet.

Some have criticized the sale of the Not-a-Flamethrower
to the general public, viewing it as a major safety
risk.

With 20,000 flamethrowers soon to be in circulation, expect more
flame-throwing displays on social media.